Navantia launches the seventh corvette for Saudi Arabia’s navy, to be named NEOM

The seventh corvette that Spain’s Navantia is building for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces has been in the water since Sunday, October 25. The launch took place at the company’s shipyards in the Bay of Cádiz and the ship will be named “NEOM”, after one of the flagship projects of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 programme. The new unit is the second of the three-ship batch awarded to Navantia in 2025, after the five corvettes built between 2019 and 2024.

The ceremony was presided over by the Chief of Staff of the Saudi naval forces, Vice Adm. Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Ghuraibi, and Navantia chairman Ricardo Domínguez. Also present was Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Spain, Princess Haifa bint Abdulaziz Al-Muqrin. The event opened with a recitation of verses from the Quran before the speeches.

Al-Ghuraibi explained that the name combines “NEO”, meaning “new”, with the letter “M”, which refers to the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. “From the shores of Spain to the shores of Saudi Arabia, HMS NEOM will be an enduring symbol of what the two Kingdoms can build together,” he said. He added that integration of systems, trials, sea trials and training follow, until the ship reaches full operational readiness and sails for Saudi Arabia.

Domínguez stressed the pace of the programme. “Launching a ship every four months is consistent with the industrial schedule set for the programme,” he said, noting that Navantia strictly keeps its commitments. He called the Saudi navy’s trust “the greatest recognition” of the company’s efforts. The director of the Bay of Cádiz shipyards, Alberto Cervantes, thanked workers’ families.

Delivery schedule and Spanish Navy role

The three corvettes of the second batch are being built at the San Fernando and Puerto Real facilities, with delivery of the last ship scheduled for 2029. The first will be delivered in Spain, while the second and third will sail to Saudi Arabia for installation, integration and testing of the combat system, as happened with the fourth and fifth units of the previous contract.

The Spanish Navy is also involved in the programme, through an implementation agreement with the Saudi naval forces. The agreement provides for an integrated logistics support package, crew training and an operational evaluation period for the ships at the Rota naval base, where Navantia will provide support services. The company estimates the contract’s workload at about four million man-hours, with an average of 2,200 skilled jobs a day. More than 20 subcontractors and 50 suppliers from various countries take part.

The new corvettes are identical to those of the first batch and are based on the Avante 2200 design. It is a multi-role ship covering surveillance and maritime traffic control, search and rescue and assistance to other vessels, with capabilities for protecting strategic infrastructure, intelligence gathering, anti-submarine, anti-air and anti-surface warfare and electronic warfare.

Much of the equipment comes from Navantia itself: the HAZEM combat system, through the SAMI Navantia joint venture, the HERMESYS integrated communications system, the DORNA fire control system, the platform management system and the MINERVA integrated bridge. The propulsion engines are built under MTU licence and the gearboxes under Schelde licence. Navantia’s Repairs division will also carry out the corvettes’ dry-docking work at San Fernando.

The launch takes place while Saudi Arabia is under attack from Yemen’s Houthis. In July the Houthis declared a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia, and on Monday, October 26 they claimed drone strikes on pipeline pumping stations and Riyadh airport, as Geopolitiki reported.